Calculating future Māori and General Electorates

The results of the Census and the Māori Electoral Option held between are used by the Government Statistician to calculate the number of Māori and General electorates for future General Elections.

How electorates are calculated

The census counts the population usually living in New Zealand, including children and those not eligible to enrol. This information is used by the Government Statistician to calculate the following groups:

Māori electoral population

General electoral population - North Island

General electoral population - South Island

The Māori electoral population is calculated using a statutory formula. This population includes:

persons registered as electors of Māori electoral districts

plus a proportion of persons of Māori descent who are not registered as electors

plus a proportion of persons of Māori descent who are under the age of 18.

The General electoral population is the ordinarily resident population shown in the last census less the Māori electoral population.

All electorates must have about the same population size. The number of South Island General electorates is fixed at 16 by the Electoral Act 1993. To calculate the number of electorates the Government Statistician:­

divides the South Island General electoral population by 16 (this result provides the average electoral population for South Island electorates and is referred to as the South Island quota)

divides the Māori electoral population by the South Island quota to work out the number of Māori electorates, and

divides the North Island General electoral population by the South Island quota to work out the number of General electorates for the North Island.

The number of Māori and North Island General electorates are rounded to the nearest whole number.

More information about how Statistics New Zealand calculates electoral populations and the number of electorates is available at www.stats.govt.nz.

Factors that can impact on the number of Māori electorates

The following factors may influence the number of Māori electorates:

population change since the last census

the number of people included in the census

how people answer the census Māori descent question

the level of enrolment by people who have indicated they are of Māori descent on the General roll or Māori roll

the proportion of electors of Māori descent who are on the Māori roll at the end of the Option period.